George Clooney says he has a foolproof trick when it comes to getting some peace and quiet at his villa on Italy's Lake Como.

It involves using a couple of Hollywood buddies and their burgeoning brood.

"Whenever I want, I can always stage a diversion and invite Brad and Angie and their 15 children to come over," Clooney joked to The Sun in an exclusive interview. "Then I can sneak away to the other side of the lake by boat and do whatever I want."

Clooney, whose new film "The American" is out now, also told the British paper he's taking on less work these days and spending more time at his Italian home, in the town of Lagio. But even that location is proving less of a sanctuary than it once was.

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"Unfortunately Lagio is turning into a bit of a tourist mecca now and so I have to be a little more careful whenever I'm there - either that, or I should just stand at the entrance to the village handing out tourist brochures," Clooney said.

Clooney, 49, has been dating Italian TV presenter Elisabetta Canalis for more than a year now, and says he's finally struck a good balance between his career and his personal life.

"I was working so hard on my film projects that for a time I basically didn't even think about how much my personal life was evolving," Clooney said. "I didn't care, in the sense that I didn't have a family or children to look after and that I wasn't involved in any long-term relationships."